Hi Fellow Fender Junkies !!!

twfender · July 3rd, 2009, 09:12 PM

Finally, I have enough time to say hello to everyone and guys I have lots and lots of questions. My kids bought me a hundred and something dollar Squier Strat for Father's Day 3 years ago and I have been hooked on guitars ever since. I have always had a guitar in my house since I was a teenager, but I never got serious about playing until the Squier showed up. Well, being completely clueless about guitars I thought that Squier was the same thing Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendricks played. Well, after doing some research online I figured things out. Well, I couldn't beleive how much they wanted for guitars now! I also noticed that vintage guitars were a major asset too. So like I said before, I always had a guitar in the house since I was a kid.......I'm in my 50's now. So I started looking at my old beater Epiphone archtop with that God awful 60's pickup on it. I plugged it in to the little Squier amp the kids bought me and what do ya know ? That ol' sixties pickup still worked! I mean it WAILED!! Literally !!! The feedback was horrible, but it sure had nice deep tone when it wasn't screaming. Well,to make a long story short I had always hated the fat neck on the Epiphone, so I took into Guitar Center to have them look at it and see what it was worth. When I took it out of the case you would have thought Stevie Ray had rose from the dead and walked in.They all came over to look at my old beater guitar I'd paid 30 bucks for years ago. Needless to say at the time I had no idea how much it was worth. I mean I would put it on the floor at home for my grankids to play with. They'd jump on it and bang it and have all kinds of fun with it. Well, of course I traded it in for what I thought was a great deal. I got a brand new Epiphone Les Paul and a Mitchell ( GC's house brand) acoustic/electric. I should have known I was stupid when the kid that was helping me said " But sir there are Gibsons on sale"" But no I didn't think my old beater was worth that much.To wrap this up, the Epiphone "Beater" was a 1953 Epiphone Century, it still had the serial number inside. The sixties pickup was just that, a sixties humbucker that wasn't original but still a collectors item and very rare. So I found out it was worth between 2700.00 and 5000.00 because 1953 was the year before Epiphone was bought out by Gibson and all the parts were original Epiphone parts.I traded for a 500 dollar L P and a 200 dollar acoustic !!! Those guys are still laughing I bet. I had wanted a Les Paul since I was a kid, it didn't matter that it wasn't a Gibson.And really it was a nice guitar.But OMG it weighed a ton! My back ached after 10 minutes of practice.And it didn't have that bright bell tone and that "Quack" sound I liked so much from my cheapo Squier HHMMM. Yeah, that bound neck was nice on the LP but I wish it was more like the neck on that ol' crappie cheapo Squier the kids bought me ...HHHMMMM.....WELLL DUHHHHH TIM just admit that you like the Squier more HUH??? I guess I was afraid they might laugh at me again at Guitar Center or something, Duh again!! So I sold the Epiphone and used the money to modify my "OL crappie cheapo Squier.I will get into that later I have run out of time. It is nice to have other guitar junkies to be my sound board. It's lonely out here where I live. Tim in Estacada Oregon

ThreeHands · July 4th, 2009, 12:02 AM

Hi ya Tim,
Yeah over the years I heard of that type of thing happening. And have come across a couple of music shop guys that make used cars salesman look like saints.

so has your Squier got a maple or rosewood neck?

dhb2000usa · July 4th, 2009, 12:37 AM

Hey Tim, welcome to the bunch. You should show us pictures of your Squier. I have a couple myself that I've "enhanced" and they play and sound great. That is whenever someone who can play great is playing them.

StratmanNick · July 4th, 2009, 02:08 AM

Hi Tim, welcome to Strat Talk.

Thanks for your post, you're not alone in messing up on a deal if that helps you feel better.

johnreardon · July 4th, 2009, 06:13 AM

Hi Tim and welcome to this place. Many of us have had similar experiences

BTW minor point, your posts will be easier to read with an occasional paragraph

bowhunter · July 4th, 2009, 02:35 PM

Welcome Tim,,,Have fun here!!!

tready · July 4th, 2009, 03:00 PM

hi tim thats the trouble mate to many ppl willing to rip you of

twfender · July 5th, 2009, 02:25 AM

Thanx Guys, It's nice to hear some support. I bought a wired pickguard off of a custom shop Strat with Seymour Duncans and all US made switches and wiring.The neck is a rosewood neck with a real skunkstripe, not painted on and I love it. The pickguard is mother of pearl too, which I really like. The body is really heavy compared to the Strats I played at GC so I think it is basswood. Whatever it is, the tone I get is better than 50% of the USA Strats I've played in the last couple years. I wouldn't even trade it for a new American Standard Strat, no way.

twfender · July 5th, 2009, 02:27 AM

kimbo1957 · July 5th, 2009, 03:14 AM

Hi Tim, welcome.
Kim

T-Bodz Terry B. · July 7th, 2009, 02:36 PM

Hello Tim,

Welcome! We've all had similar situations! I traded a couple of 60's Used / Lightly Dinged
up Strats in Highschool at Guitar Center myself for Brand New Strats and severly kicked
myself in the (_._) as well later on down the line.

Take care!

T